The 2010 Virginia Off Road Series Launched

Happy New Year to Virginia Off Road Series Competitors

2009 was a great year for the Virginia Off Road Series. Our second year in existence saw some exciting improvements to VORS and we're doing lots of behind the scenes work to bring more enthusiasm to make 2010 even better for the Race Directors, Venues, Sponsors, and of course the racers.

Over The Shoulder

From the O-Hill Meltdown in March to the Tidewater Challenge in October, the 22 races in the VORS schedule included events in an ever-increasing portion of the state. Competitors traveled to staples of Virginia racing like the 18 Hours on the Farm and Urban Assault in Richmond and ventured to new destinations like the Devil's Backbone Challenge at the brewery near Wintergreen. From, new to VORS, The Shootout at Angler's Ridge in Danville to returning races like the Rappahannock Adventure Tri in Fredricksburg, over 1400 people tied a number to their handlebars in the series last year.

We listened to our racers and introduced the "7-Race Rule" last year, popular in various race series, to make it VORS more competitive. We awarded TWO wildman awards to Carlos Espinoza and Daniel Ortiz for competing in 15 races. We named a new beer from the Devil's Backbone Brewery "Paula and Andy's Victory Red" after the first race on new trails. Wow! What a fun year.

On Your Left

Woody Elliott and Jared Stangl hope you had a great time last year. Awarding prizes for your hard work at the Tidewater Challenge is such an honor. To be able to reward such dedicated athletes for months of hard work on all ability levels is a treat for us. We would like to thank Carytown Bicycles and Rowlett's Bicycles, along with the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation for their sponsorship of VORS. The series wouldn't be possible without them and we ask you return the support and let them know how much you appreciate their assistance.

Just because the season wrapped up that day in Williamsburg doesn't mean VORS is sitting still. We've been working hard on making 2010 an even better year for the mountain biking community. We've been in close contact with race directors as everyone's getting their schedule ready for next year. When the races wind down, VORS and the race directors get busy putting together the next season of sweat and dirt.

Around The Bend

We're really looking forward to next year's points series. VORS has some great things in the works, all to enhance the off-road racing environment we love. www.VirginiaOffRoadSeries.com is all new and redesigned to bring more information to the racers. Guest articles from Endorphin Fitness, an exclusive Forums page from CyclingCentralVA.org for racers to discuss the series, Facebook and Twitter pages to keep the racers informed about VORS news.

Our calendar is improved and expanded to cover more of the state and work with more race directors. Race directors now have their own page with their races listed also. We have a second race at Devil's Backbone Brewery called The Stampede during the Bike Festival. We've added Lynchburg and Annandale as new venues. Check out the calendar page for more info.

Saving the best for last, the X-Cat is also new for 2010. Again, we listened to the competitors and are introducing two new racer categories. Men's X-Cat and Women's X-Cat is an enduro style category where Enduro, Multisport, and Endurance races count towards points. It doesn't require an XC race, but does require that you register with us. Check out the new rules page for complete info.

Happy new year to all our competitors and we'll see you at the start line,